PF Central Committee Member protest against US Ambassador

A member of the Central Committee for the governing party, PF has protested against the United States Ambassador Eric Schultz’s comment on the political situation in Zambia.

In an open letter copied to President Lungu, COMESA, European Union, PF Secretary General and the Media, Paul Moonga raises alot of questions on the Ambassador’s statement on the arrest of opposition UPND president Hakainde Hichilema.

Below is the letter:

Your Excellency the US Ambassador to Zambia

Mr Eric Schultz

Lusaka

18th April, 2017

Dear Sir,

Ref-Your statement on the arrest of Mr Hakainde Hichilema

I have noted with interest your recent statement regarding the arrest of Mr Hakainde Hichilema, the president of the United Party for National Development (UPND).

Firstly, allow me to state that even though I am a Member of Central Committee for the Patriotic Front (PF), I am writing this note in my capacity as a citizen of the Republic of Zambia.

Your statement was written soon after Mr Hichilema was arrested for obstructing the Presidential motorcade in Mongu during the Kuomboka Traditional Ceremony of the Lozi-speaking people.

The statement appears to suggest that this country is more politically divided as a result of the Police arresting Mr. Hichilema.

Allow me to quote:“The United States government remains concerned over heightened political tension in Zambia, specifically noting the April 10 police raid of opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema’s Lusaka residence and his subsequent arrest for treason.”
“Recent events underscore the need for peaceful dialogue between the opposition and ruling party on matters of national concern.”
The American government further observed the need for respect of the rule of law in the country before it loses the reputation of political pluralism. “The U.S. government urges all actors to exercise restraint in addressing differences, to respect the rule of law and electoral proceedings, and to follow the due process Zambians expect from a country with a reputation for political pluralism and peaceful conflict resolution,” stated the US Embassy.

“The U.S. government urges all actors to exercise restraint in addressing differences, to respect the rule of law and electoral proceedings, and to follow the due process Zambians expect from a country with a reputation for political pluralism and peaceful conflict resolution.

Your Excellency, I wish to inform you Sir, that Mr Hichilema has repeatedly said he does not recognize the President of the Republic of Zambia. Clearly, it is because of the stance he had taken against the Head of State that he decided to refuse police orders to give chance to the presidential motorcade to pass.

I believe peace and respect for authority go hand in hand. The statements issued by Mr. Hichilema have publicly announced and widely covered by media houses in Zambia.

During these moments that Mr Hichilema has called press conferences to announce that he will not recognize President Edgar Lungu, I believe your office has been privy to them.

I am therefore very surprised that your office has remained silent and only expressed concern about the “political divisions” only after his arrest, your Excellency.

I want to believe that the United States is peaceful because opposition leaders have not shown such levels of disrespect for sitting Heads of States.

I am also aware your Excellency that the President of the United States includes police cars to lead the motorcade and clear the streets. They also include electronic countermeasures and the counter-assault team, besides the “hazardous-materials-mitigation” personnel and equipment, all ready to deal with elements attempting to the flow of the presidential motorcade.

Clearly, this story would not have been the same if Mr. Hichilema was an American citizen.

The kind and weight of policing detail in your country your Excellency is not the same as Zambia where police use basic control measures and rely on Zambians to respect well-known etiquettes and norms which are in public.

Therefore, your belated call for respect for the rule of law is less effective and appears to speak the language of a respected leader like you being carefully convenient in terms of timing and the selection of words.

Mr. Hichilema committed a wrong for which police in any other country would have fired live ammunition to protect the President. President Lungu has been very peaceful and even when his motorcade was obstructed he remained calm and drove on the side of this unruly leader which is very unconventional when compared with other Heads of States.

The issue of concern is whether police in the United States would have left a citizen scot-free after refusing to leave the road when the President is passing.

Dialogue should not be instigated by an individual who chooses to breach the law. It is unfair to the Zambian people to breach the law and hold dialogue meetings with a law-breaker. There are many Zambians in this country, including Mr. Hichilema, and the law is prepared in order to be followed by all. If this allowed, Your Excellency, we will be constructing a country where presidential motorcades will be obstructed knowing that your office will call for dialogue unless you confirm that Mr. Hichilema must be treated differently from the rest of Zambians.

It is therefore, my submission that you revisit this matter and address Mr. Hichilema’s insolence against the Government of Zambia and the President. If this does not happen, Mr. Hichilema will always wake up thinking that he is the most important citizen of this country who is not affected by the laws of land.

Yours faithfully,

Paul Moonga

CC His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia – Mr Edgar C. Lungu

39 Responses to PF Central Committee Member protest against US Ambassador

Respect of What? How to abuse each other?
Learn to be thinkers.
You spend so much time and effort consolidating power which amount to nothing.
Are not a shamed of mentioning 52 years of independence which has heeded no development to mention of.
The institutions you have now are exactly as the British left them, no updates to show your own culture and state of independence. Your are but a dependent nation despite the abundant resources the country has.

You Idle worshipers do not force HH to worship you god.He only respects the Creator almighty God.Its foolish of you to expect HH to worship Lungu as We only have one God to worship.This irritates me.What a Christian Nation people.

We all know that was a calculated move to ensure hh is arrested.u faggots think people are happy with the way u are governing this country instead if sorting out burning issues and escalatn poverty levels. Bakabwa free that gallant man of the land. Idiots

that is the problem with zambians.as we differ in skin color with white people, so is our thinking.white people never make mistakes anyhow, and they speak the truth.that is why we even rose against Guy Scott, we knew that,once a white rule,stealin or plundering of national resources will come to an end.the country will a national coffer which we have blown into campaign ask inonge. Zambia will turn into paradise in a short period of time of which the black skin is alegic to.so my friend, white people are good and honest.because even south africa, if it had chased the white earlier, there would’nt be Jburg today. see zimbabwe had chased white farmers immidiately hunger enveded the land.answer me:why are the countries for the white people more developed than african?except SA and arabic countries.

This article is utter nonsense,
The author sounds very uneducated and naive about rule of law and what leadership entails.
To blame UPND for everything nonsensical is utter desperation of powerless and visionless leaders we have in this country. Please learn to articulate facts and do your job in the PF committee to serve the poor people of Zambia. No wonder Zambia is far from development as we speak because of such people called government who are villains. Please don’t mess with people’s lives…..

This article is utter nonsense,
The author sounds very uneducated, desperate, and naive about rule of law and what leadership entails.
To blame UPND for everything nonsensical is utter desperation of powerless and visionless leaders we have in this country. Please learn to articulate facts and do your job in the PF committee to serve the poor people of Zambia. No wonder Zambia is far from development as we speak because of such people called government who are villains. Please don’t mess with people’s lives…..

I guess the low level of intellect exposed by the writer of the letter Mr. Paul Moonga reflects the garbage lining our GRZ offices, and the quality of leadership gathered around Lungu, including Lungu’s empty mind. This is utter nonsense and clearly insults all Zambians for putting into office such an imbecile for a leader and all his despotic followers. We must start organizing ourselves to rid of this filth from our governance scene if we are to reverse the decline our country is experiencing in all sectors of national life.

Mr. Moonga Sir, don’t you realize that PF thugs are using you to condemn your own brother? For the love of money you are betraying your brother. If no one is above the law, why is Lungu who rigged the election scotfree? Why did Lungu not want the Courts of Law vindicate him? Lungu is illigitimate till proven innocent.

Mr Moonga’letter displays only the inefficiency of our government and police in as far as protecting our president is concerned.It also reveals a very level and unhelpful suggestion for conflict resolution.What the US ambassador wrote is true.Such truth must be adhered to and find a lasting solution to the political tension.An advisor to the president are a loss both to the country and the president himself.Stop misleading the president.
Why should you not convince HH with truth about the August 11 elections in. court? What is it that President Lungu losing by not being recognized by HH? If there’s nothing leave him alone he deserves freedom of speech right.
2.Was HH a passenger or driver? How did try to obstruct presidential motorcade? Video is so clear.
3.Here in the US if President Trump is using I-95 route police will man the road and block all roads junctions joining the road.No other vehicle will be allowed to use the road.Why did our police service performed such a noble duty effeciently?
Why did the sweepers do their job in advance even to stop all traffic using the road.
Mr Moonga such action is clearly at play as an ill intention trap for HH of which should be allowed in Christian nation governed by chrisIran leaders.
Finally,could you honestly explain who’s responsibility was for security of the motorcade and what their roles .
Peace is never created by use of guns but through dialogue.Isaiah 59:1-2 Lord God invites every sinner to a dialogue.Abash police nor military intimidation. Call a spade a spade then your deficiencies will be resolved and in turn peace will prevail and tensions swallowed up in the country.

Steve – How would you convince someone who said he would not accept the results if he lost? HH overrates and overrated himself so much and this is his undoing. You also ask, “What is it that President Lungu losing by not being recognized by HH?” The answer to your question is what you saw in Mongu – it is not as simple as that Steve. HH’s behavior towards the president can breed anarchy and chaos to the country. You know that UPND MPs are boycotting Parliament because HH has said he does not recognize ECL as President, right? Freedom of speech has limits and must not be used to disturb peace – refer to what President Magufuli said in Tanzania recently. Talking about dialogue, in what capacity is ECL going to dialogue with HH – as a resident of Chawama, then dialogue over what with a resident of Chawama? There are no parallels with the US Presidential motorcade here: HH deliberately disrespected and endangered the life of the President because he does not recognize him. The arrogance and insolence of his whole motorcade is because HH has told them that ECL is not President – now you see why your earlier question is so basic?

HH is just stupid and a political imbecile he is. He bullied his mps to boycott parliament but yet he want sympathy from people and clamong that lungu is a dictator. It’s either HH or no way. He has learnt his lesson in civic which is of you want to be president you should respect the office of presidency. talk about lack of discernment and fate, by now hh would have been president and not lungu had hh willing chosen to form a government of coalition with Sata. Instead Guy Scott went on to be president and rest is history.

let the US boss in Zambia respond to the article. Worldwide and in the US number one, the presidential motorcade is highly respected.
Ok the ambassador, if hillary Clinton did that to Trump what was going to happen? Need an answer now.

The courts are the third arm of government but they are no longer seen that way. If they concluded the matter of the petition, all would have been well now. They failed to handle the petition case and as a result it is still hanging because it was inconclusive. They should have controlled the deliberations to ensure such an important issue is brought to finality within the stipulated time. They failed us miserably.

Paul Moonga has exposed his ignorance of the Law and the Zambian Constitution.1.The 2016 Election was Disputed and Petitioned. HH & GBM Petitioned against the Election of Lungu and as such the Petitioners cannot Recognize the very Person they are accusing of Electoral Fraud. The Petitioners can only recognize Lungu as a Legitimate President Zambia after their Petition is heard,determined and the Court declares Lungu the Winner of the 2016 Election and duly elected. Without Hearing the Petition and disposing it Lungu will remain illegitimate. Besides there is no Law compelling HH,GBM or anybody to recognize Lungu as Legitimate President. 2.The Presidential Motorcade Rage in Mongu is in Court and the alleged Obstruction by HH of the Presidential Motorcade is yet to be proven. In the meantime we can only say this was a Set Up to frame HH and slap him with trumped up unbailable Treason Charges.Traffic Offences are not Treasonable by any means. HH was seated at the back of his car and there is no way Him and his Driver and Security Guards could have plotted to overthrow the Govt of Zambia on that Road and in that Car.Lungu is not the Govt of Zambia besides. The root cause of Political Instability in Zambia and Tension is the Disputed and Petitioned Election and until that Petition is heard and disposed off there wont be any lasting peace in Zambia. Arresting the Petitioners and throwing them in filthy jails will not give Lungu the Legitimacy he so desires. Instead his violent and lawless Strategy will backfire as Lungu and his Criminals at State are slapped with Economic,Financial and Travel Sanctions.

My friend, the legal occupant of State House right now is ECL. Whether you agree or not is immaterial. He has to be accorded the respect of President. You cannot, on legal semantics, define misinterpretations that fit your thinking but are flawed at law and think that you are protected by the law.

What hogwash,Hillary Clinton conceded defeat despite the Russian factor and the election being one of the most acrimonious in U.S history to date,having said that you cannot draw comparisons to over 200 years of democracy to a ka mere 20 plus yrs of ukuwayawaya fye ba Moonga,thats why we never learn anything,In 1963 J.F.K was killed by Lee harvey Oswald was he charged with treason?Some sucker even shot the pope in the eighties,who even went on to forgive him,did the vatican charge him with treason?In Africa treason is when you refuse to kneel before the head of state!

There was no Russian factor in Zambia but utter thuggery by the PF to disadvantage the opposition.

In USA elections were free and fair, every candidate was given a chance to campaign fairly while in Zambia your PF blocked UPND and HH several times. PF was even intimidating people and killing people with impunity.

The case of Chavula illegally changing results at ECZ has not been resolved upto now. Do you I can accept Lungu as President as President? Big No.

Court nullufied election results but up now PF has ignored the law. Lungu breached the constitution by not stepping down when the petition was lauched.

when you come to think of it,what happened to the courts nullification of the munali & lusaka central parly seats,and the illegality of ministers staying in office after parliament is dissolved? kuwawaya fe….

BRAVO BROTHER MOONGA- APT TO THE POINT AND WELL ARTICULATED.
ECL DESERVES THE RESPECT AS HEAD OF STATE. CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME – YOU DISRESPECT THE PRESIDENT = DISRESPECT TO RULE OF LAW = POLITICAL DISHARMONY

(CNN)Spencer
“The sponsor was very clear that the wording of the bill is not to say that it’s OK to go and hit people with your car,” DesAuteles said. “But that’s the way that people are reading it. The only way it’s being read by the vast majority of people is: ‘I can hurt protesters and get away with it.'”
Republican state Rep. Matthew Hill, the bill’s sponsor, did not respond to a request for comment on the legislation, which failed to move out of a House subcommittee, although a companion bill is pending before a Senate subcommittee. But the measure is just one of several being considered across the country as state lawmakers react to protests against President Donald Trump and his policies, instances of police brutality, the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines and other issues that could continue to draw national attention.
So far, lawmakers in at least 18 states have proposed legislation that would make it harder to protest, create harsher penalties for protestors who are arrested, and, in two states, remove liability from drivers who accidentally injure protesters on roadways.
Proponents of the bills say they are commonsense measures to ensure public safety after the high-profile protests against the Dakota Access pipeline near Cannonball, North Dakota, and against the police shootings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and of Jamar Clark and Philando Castile in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota, area.
But the trend is alarming to civil rights groups and others who say the measures would trample the public’s First Amendment rights.
“Some of these bills are so egregious that you don’t need a law degree to conclude they’re unconstitutional,” said Lee Rowland, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, who has monitored state legislation for more than a decade.
The United Nations has also taken note, releasing a report by the special rapporteur identifying anti-protest bills in 16 states, which the report called “a worrying trend.”
“We are concerned that the above-mentioned bills are incompatible with international human rights law and would unduly restrict the possibility for individuals to freely exercise their rights to freedom of opinion and expression, and peaceful assembly,” it said. “If adopted, the pending bills could have a domino effect on other states, leading to a general crackdown on protests in the United States.”
Under one bill in Missouri, wearing a mask or disguise while protesting would be a crime, while under another, in Oklahoma, trespassing on property containing critical infrastructure could land a perpetrator a fine of at least $1,000 and six months in jail, with intent to vandalize or actually damaging the structure bringing much stiffer penalties of a year in prison and at least a $10,000 fine or up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine, respectively.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers in Georgia, Iowa, Tennessee and Florida have pushed bills to boost penalties for blocking roads and highways or trespassing, with the Florida bill also exempting drivers from liability for unintentionally injuring or even killing protestors who do so.
Last month, the Tennessee legislature passed a bill sponsored by Republican state Rep. Jimmy Matlock that would make it a misdemeanor to obstruct streets and highways in a way that restricts emergency vehicle access, quadrupling the fine to $200; Republican Gov. Bill Haslam signed the bill earlier this month.
In Minnesota, legislators are considering two highway-obstruction bills and a measure that would allow protestors to be sued for the cost of policing their protests.
Republican state Rep. Nick Zerwas, who had a hand in all three bills, said he coauthored one of them after hearing how his constituents were affected when protesters shut down freeways, a tactic he called “the go-to protest move.”
“When you shut down a freeway or you close an airport, it has a real impact and it hurts real people,” Zerwas said.
In the last two years, protesters have shut down Interstate 94 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area after the police shootings of Jamar Clark and Philando Castile and also after Trump’s election victory.
“If you stand in the middle of a freeway and try to block a freeway, you deserve to go to jail,” Zerwas said. “It’s really that cut and dry.”
The measures would make obstructing highways, airport entrances or transit vehicles a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison or a $3,000 fine for non-violent offenders or by up to three years in prison or a $5,000 fine for violent offenders.
“The reality is that you have no First Amendment right to free speech or assembly on the center lane on the freeway or the entrance to an international airport or the middle of a train track,” Zerwas said. “It’s already against the law to be there; all we’re doing is increasing the penalty. We are not taking a single protest or free speech activity that is currently legal and making it illegal by passing these bills.”
The bills are part a public safety package of legislation, Zerwas said, adding he is “very hopeful” Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton would ultimately sign the legislation. The third bill, to allow protesters to be sued for the cost of policing, is not expected to pass.
Meanwhile, in late March, the governor of South Dakota signed a bill that caps the number of people allowed to gather on public lands at 20.
Matt Konenkamp, a policy adviser to South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard, told CNN the law is meant to deal any protests over the planned construction of the section of the Keystone XL pipeline that will run through South Dakota.
“It patches a hole in our existing law relative to emergency situations,” Konenkamp said. “If we’re forced to declared an emergency in response to a public safety need that’s triggered by people that are gathering for peaceful protests, to object to the TransCanada pipeline, we will have this hole patched in our existing law.”
The law says if it is necessary to “preserve the undisturbed use of the land” or if “the land may be damaged,” the state commissioner of school and public lands can restrict gatherings at the request of the governor and the sheriff who has jurisdiction. It also makes obstructing roadways a misdemeanor crime.
“We support people’s right to protest and certainly, in this instance, the Native Americans’ right to peacefully and prayerfully gather and note their objections with,” Konenkamp said, referring to Keystone XL protests. “Second, I would say that there are time and place restrictions on first amendment rights.”
The Arizona Senate also passed legislation targeting protest groups. The bill, which stalled in the state House and is not expected to pass, would allow law enforcement officials to go after organizers of any protest that turns violent, even if the violence was caused by a single attendee. The measure would accomplish this by making rioting a crime that can be prosecuted under the state’s racketeering laws and by expanding the definition of rioting to include an action that “disturbs the public peace or results in damage to the property of another person.”
Opponents of the bill say it would be a clear violation of due-process rights and the presumption of innocence.
“The fact that some other human makes a decision to violate the law does not make you a criminal, and the problem with that law is that it views every protestor with criminal suspicion,” said the ACLU’s Rowland. “So while rioting is not protected, the problem with that bill is it took every protester and rounded them up to a rioter effectively if one person makes the choice to break the law.”
ACLU affiliates are working with community partners to oppose the bills in all 18 states, Rowland said, adding that the National Lawyers Guild and Amnesty International are also engaged in the process.
“These bills aren’t just unconstitutional,” Rowland said. “They’re also a betrayal of American values.”